Just What I Can See
by bombalurima
Summary: Another The Doph one-shot. Toph has never been bothered that she can't see...up until now.


It had never really bothered Toph that she couldn't see. Since she had been born with it, her disability became anything but that—rather, it was a gift. She was proud of her unique ability, and she sometimes honestly felt as if she could see better than anyone else could.

She had long since shaken any shame or disappointment that might have clung to her. She could joke about her blindness now, and could shrug off any taunts that came her way from outsiders about it—more than that, she could make that outsider regret the words had ever left his mouth.

The fact that she didn't know what the color red looked like, the fact that she'd never be able to read a book or write a letter on her own…that was a bit of a let-down, yes, but Toph had long since learned to let it go. Really, she could see everything she needed with the vision she did have.

She thought that much up until she fell in love.

For ages now, she had been privy to the conversations held between Katara, Suki and Mai about their boyfriends. She had heard them talk, Katara in her sweet, warm tone and Mai in her hoarser, raspy one about Aang and Zuko, and the love for their men was so strong in their voices, that Toph felt she might be able to reach out and touch it, not just see it.

All of their talk had made her roll her eyes. Katara was a total sugarqueen, it could only be expected that she would melt in such a way, even if it _was_ over Twinkle-Toes. But Mai…it was like a whole other side of her was unlocked whenever she talked about Zuko. It was a curious thing. Toph couldn't help but be intrigued.

She was always there, hovering on the outskirts of her friends' romances. She would hear Zuko whisper into Mai's ear that she looked beautiful, and wondered just what passed as beautiful. She overheard Aang tell Katara that the color of her dress made her eyes look bluer than ever—and Toph pondered as to what blue looked like.

It was hard sometimes, being stuck in her world of eternal darkness when there was so much beauty all around her. And even though she had never minded before, it was starting to bother her now, a persistent little itch that she didn't dare to scratch.

* * *

The Duke was the one who found her, of course. Both of them were in attendance at Irah's first birthday celebration. It seemed like the entire Fire Nation had flooded to the capital city to make merry and revel in the first anniversary of their princess's birth, and it had been tough to track down all of her old friends in the giant swam or red-clad people.

Katara and Aang were doing just fine, thank you very much. Toph wasn't sure what Aang was playing at—he still hadn't proposed to her. Sokka and Suki had both said hello to her, and she had talked to her old friend for a long time, catching up on the progress he was adding to his Southern Water Tribe home.

After that, she had tracked down the happy couple and their little bundle of joy themselves. "Toph!" Zuko's heart was beating faster than usual, and Toph could sense the pure happiness in his voice as he engulfed her in a brief hug. "You're here!"

"Of course I am," Toph insisted gruffly, yanking away from Zuko so she could hug Mai instead. "I couldn't miss out on something like this."

"Irah never would have forgiven you," Mai laughed. Toph chatted with them for a little bit, all the while holding Irah. She was a year old now, and she felt so very solid and warm in her arms. It felt strange, almost unnatural.

"Oh, look at her!" Ty Lee's bright voice squealed suddenly from somewhere to Toph's left. Before she knew what was happening, Ty Lee had scooped Irah up in her arms. "She's just so adorable!"

"Yes, she is." Although Toph couldn't see him, she imagined that Zuko must be beaming fit to burst. Without another word, she turned and began to weave her way through the crowd, away from the royal family. No one seemed to notice her departure.

The party was being held outdoors, as it was a warm, sweet summer night. A gentle breeze began to blow as Toph kept her march up. She didn't go too far—just enough so that the noise of the celebration behind her dimmed. She sat down in a patch of grass and sighed, staring up at the sky she couldn't really see. Never before had that bothered her so much.

She wasn't sure just how long she had been away—but it could not have been long enough for anyone to notice. However, the sound of approaching footsteps broke her out of her moody thoughts. She held still for a moment, listening and evaluating, and was unsurprised when she heard a familiar voice ask, "What are you doing out here, Toph?"

"Nothing," Toph grumbled, angling her body so it faced away from The Duke's. He was one of her friends, yes, but she didn't want to talk to him now.

"Why did you leave the party?" She felt him sit down next to her and had to suppress a groan. He could be as inquisitive as Aang sometimes, and just as bothersome.

"No reason."

"You'd still be there if there wasn't a reason," The Duke pointed out, and Toph gritted her teeth.

"Listen. I'm just having an off moment, OK? I'll be fine in a few minutes."

She waited for him to leave then, but he didn't. In fact, to her horror, his voice grew softer as he asked her, "Toph…what's this about? Normally, you'd be busting a wall down or beating someone up if you were feeling down about something."

"Well, this isn't normal for me," Toph blurted before she could stop herself. "It's just that…well…"

The Duke didn't pry with any other question, which led Toph to spill the words in a rush. "I'm…kinda bummed, I guess you could say…that, well…I can't see."

The words were embarrassing, they were words that had never once left her lips before, and now that she was confessing to someone else, they felt ten times worse. She could feel heat on her face and knew that she must have been flushing.

The Duke, however, didn't laugh at her. He didn't apologize, or something as equally stupid. Instead, he reached over and picked up her hand.

"Toph," He assured her, still in that low voice. "You see better than anyone else I know half the time."

"Not like _that,"_ Toph insisted, shaking her head and feeling her hands beginning to shake, even the one that was clasped with his. "I mean…I want to _see-_see. I want to know what the sky looks like, for once. I want to know my colors. I want to be able to tell the difference between dark and light. I want to see people…I want to see _you."_

She could have bitten her tongue off. Toph had virtually no idea where the last part of her confession had spilled from, but now that it was out in the open, there was no taking it back. And what was more, her words had been true.

The Duke paused for a moment, before asking carefully, "Me, huh?"

"Not _just_ you," Toph was quick to amend, attempting to fix some of the damage. "Other people…Aang, Katara, Zuko, Mai…everyone. Just people. I only said _you_ because you're…here."

It sounded weak even to her own ears, and she wasn't sure if would buy it or not. "I see…" Was all that he said. There was another brief pause in their conversation, and Toph was sure that her heart was beating so loudly that he could hear it.

Quite suddenly, The Duke picked up her hand, the one that he had been holding, and brought it to his face. Toph gasped, and almost pulled it away, but he held onto it, keeping her anchored there. Her palm was flat against his cheek, and it was far warmer and softer than she ever could have imagined.

Slowly, with slightly shaky fingers, she began to stroke it, the pads of her fingers caressing his cheek in silent wonder. She moved then to his eyebrows, running along the length of each of them and down the slope of his forehead, bringing her fingers back down to skim across his nose.

Almost on its own free will, her other hand moved up to his hair, at first tentatively brushing against it before the fingers knotted there. The other five fingers on his face now moved down to his lips, softly tracing the outline of them.

She heard his breath hitch, and her own did the same in response. Both of his hands had long since returned to lying loosely at his sides, but he brought the one back up again to grab ahold of her own on his mouth. He moved it aside, and Toph knew what was going to happen a moment before it did.

The Duke kissed her then, slowly at first, but when her other hand tangled in his hair as the other one had before, he deepened it. His own hands securely cradled her head, and did so throughout the entire duration of their kiss. It could have been minutes, hours, or possibly days, before the two finally broke apart.

Toph had never felt her heart beat this fast before, and she could pick up on The Duke's, going at just the same pace. Their fingers were still tangled in each other's hair, and neither one of them made any move to pull apart as The Duke leaned his forehead against her's.

"What was all _that_ about?" Toph managed to ask.

"To try to help you know what I look like," He responded. "I'm not sure if it worked…it was a stupid idea, really, but-"

She cut him off by stamping another kiss onto his lips.

"Don't worry. It worked," She informed him when she pulled away again.

"Really?" He laughed breathlessly, his lips still mere centimeters away from her's. "How?"

"I see you now," Toph answered, the simplest, most honest thing she could think to say.

The Duke smiled—Toph could feel it against her lips. "You always have."


End file.
